The Work Foundation is the leading think tank for improving work in the UK. We have been an authoritative, independent source of ideas and analysis on the labour market and the wider economy for over a hundred years.
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Yesterday it was announced that Deliveroo has signed a historic recognition deal with GMB Union, covering the company’s 90,000 food delivery riders. While formal union recognition at Deliveroo is a positive signal, it remains to be seen how significant this will be and whether riders will see more rights and protections.
These two briefings that set out the policy implications of research undertaken to assess the drivers of digital poverty among rural communities in the North West of England, with recommendation set out both for regional and national policy makers.
Following concerning GDP figures yesterday indicating the potential signs of a recession to come, today’s labour market statistics show a very mixed picture. While employment is up on the quarter and up on the year, it still remains below pre-pandemic rates. While overall unemployment is down on the quarter and on the year, short-term unemployment has increased for the first time since 2020, and economic inactivity levels still remain stubbornly high.
As commentators call for an extension of welfare conditionality, this piece highlights the potential harm that could cause and underlines the importance of personalised employment support and flexible, secure and good quality work.
This guide to digital boundaries and disconnection at work, produced jointly by the Work Foundation and Prospect, explores the implications of an 'always on' culture for businesses, teams and individuals, and lays out key principles to help employers develop their own approaches that support workers to fully disengage from work outside of core hours and when on leave.
Government has proposed reforms to flexible working regulations, but to support wider access to flexible working, barriers to take-up should be addressed.
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a surge in demand for courier and food delivery services in the UK. However, gig work is highly financially insecure. Recent research from Lancaster University highlights how unpaid waiting time plays a significant role in lowering average earnings for bike couriers and suggests new avenues to shift power to couriers.
Family businesses employ 14 million people in the UK, accounting for roughly half of all private sector employment. And given how they are constituted and the longevity that many have enjoyed, they may also have lessons to teach us about how to be resilient to changes in the labour market and the economy more widely.
The Work Foundation set out three key tests for the Queen’s Speech to help judge whether both the short and long-term policies and measures announced are likely to make working lives better. Our analysis reveals the speech was a missed opportunity to commit to providing additional support to millions of working families through the immediate cost of living crisis, as well as proposals to deliver higher quality, better paid and more secure jobs to level-up the UK over the longer term.
🏆 This week, the Work Foundation #ResearchOfTheWeek goes to @NIESRorg for the first report of the UK Productivity Commission ⬇️ (1/6) https://t.co/qQJXzV7oYG https://t.co/tqtHaD77F1
WF Policy Adviser @asliatayy explores how we should improve our approach to supporting asylum seekers here in the UK ⬇️ #RefugeeWeek2022 https://t.co/ebq6JpnjIL
NEW RESEARCH📢: We have published two briefings today setting out policy implications from research exploring #digitalpoverty in the North West of England in collaboration with @LancasterManage: https://t.co/1pT8a6xZj7 (1/8) https://t.co/YFEhdHO7Dz
Join @RFlorisson & @MelanieWilkes4 at 10.00-11.00 this Thursday to hear more about our new UK Insecure Work Index, and the implications for those in insecure work in light of the cost of living crisis and potential economic downturn. Sign up⬇️ https://t.co/oYFrVHfukJ
